here_fishy_fishy24

I just bought a Bumble Bee Goby, and I didn't realize he was a brackish fish. Will he be OK if I don't add salt? I have a Craw fish, a Sword Tail, Glass Fish, a Pleco and Neon and Glow Light Tetras in the same tank. TIA

serissime

Some bbg are freshwater. It's very difficult to tell. I don't really know what to tell you. Many people keep them with success in freshwater, but I don't know if they just got lucky. They are bottom dwellers, so I don't know if the bbg will have problems with the existing fish. You will probably need to feed live or frozen food, maybe with a turkey baster to make sure it gets down to him, and he also needs hiding places. good luck

here_fishy_fishy24

Yeah, he's doing good from 2 hours ago, his color came back, when I first put him in his color was pretty faded, but now he's swimming all over the tank, so I think he'll be OK. Plus they didn't mention anything at the store, so I'm going to hold off on the salt. Thanks for your input.

serissime

If you were going to make a brackish tank, remember that it is marine salt like instant ocean and not something like API aquarium salt

here_fishy_fishy24

Yeah I do have some salt, not sure what kind but I did use it when I had figure 8 Puffers and that worked out just fine. Will salt hurt my other fish who aren't brackish?

serissime

your freshwater fish will not do well in marine salt

Master Yoda

I was just in my local aquarium store and saw the bumblebee goby. The tank he was in did not appear to be brackish water and when I mentioned about putting one in my freshwater tank the store manager didn't flinch. But I will double check next time I'm in there...

iloveengl

There are different types of bumblebee gobies, but all thrive in brackish water. Some can "survive" in FW, but their lifespan will be much shorter and they will be more likely to suffer disease and it's just generally not healthy or comfortable for them.

Pet store owners and attendants don't "flinch" so to speak because they are concerned with profit and sales, not the quality of life of the fish.

Add a tablespoon of marine salt per gallon of water for brackish water. That's all there is to it, but it will make a world of difference for his health. He will do really well in a 5g brackish to himself (because your FW fish can't have the salt).

Best wishes to your fish!

Oh, here's a nice site to read about your new goby : http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Oddball,...bee%20Goby.htm

erk419

When I first bought my columbian sharks they were in and sold as fresh water. When I found out they were braskish went back in and he tried arguing with me. Once again a petstore employee not knowing what there talking about.

Butterfly

erk419 - Please notice the date of last entry when posting This is an old thread.
Thanks.
Carol

Neji

Bumble bee gobies can live in both freshwater or brackish water. I've seen some small Monos or Scats that are brackish fish but they are in freshwater, I suppose that they can adapt to being in freshwater for their entire life but the people at my local pet store said that they like being in brackish and then pure salt water when they reach their full growth.

I suppose it could be the same with bumble bee gobies too, but my friend raised bumble bee gobies in freshwater when they were young and then slowly acclimated them into brackish water. It's hard if you don't know how to do it properly.